[♪ music ] >> welcome to the news hour. from al jazeera's news center in doha and london. these are the main stories. the fights over ukraine's future. the call for breakaway from kiev. >> crying foul in turkey turns up the pressure on government. >> and i have the rest of the news from europe. including sentenced to life.

two men who hacked a british soldier to death on a london street. and france's top court he verses an extradition decision that would have sent three rwanda genocide suspects back. >> and more than skin deep. the remarkable invention that could change the way burn victims are treated. welcome to the program let's begin with the crisis in ukraine where there has been renewed pressure to track down ousted president viktor yanukovych. as tensions grow between pro russia and pro-e.u. supporters. they placed yanukovych on a

wanted list. russian president vladimir putin has ordered military drills in the west and central regions of the country, and it's where pro-russian and ukrainian lawyers came to blows. >> they came out emphatically in support of the new leadership in kiev. they shouted it is not russia and bandits get out. they say they belong in a pro european united ukraine. deputies were to meet inside the regional parliament to discuss the future, but the muslim minority has been alarmed by talk of separatism from talk from russian politicians.

>> it evolves around the parliament. and the premiere from the ukraine. >> in kiev different supporters gather together to defend their interests. some want want to return to russia and others to the region to have greater autonomy. >> this is a contest over who can shout the loudest, who has the largest number of supporters and who cares more about the future of crimea and ukraine. >> the police look under staffed. it may not be up to them to keep the peace. crimea should choose peace this sign reads, but he looks like a lone voice. it depends on who is ready to listen. >> we have more on the russian military drills.

we have this update from moscow. >> the announcements have raised speculation that they are linked to what is going on in ukraine. that is dismissed by russia's defense minister who said it has nothing to do with ukraine. it's russia's forces going through an u unannounced test, basically making sure that the army, the navy, and the air force can react to any perceived threats as quickly as they should be able to. now they did say that the black sea fleet, which is based in crimea in ukraine is being adequately protected, and the fleet is being bumped up a bit, which is probably what you would expect for any country with

overseas military assets near a country going through a revolution at the moment. although they have said that the military drills have nothing to do with what is going on in ukraine, there are probably people who are very high up in the defense ministry and russian government as well who are thinking that reminding russia's neighbors and it's rivals of russian military might at a time when it's influence in central and eastern europe has taken a big dent recently is certainly no bad to do from a russian geopolitical perspective. >> getlet's go to tim friend who has the latest from kiev. we understand that it's a novel way of unveiling the new cabinet. what is happening behind you. >> reporter: the politician who is are pitching to form, a new administration here in kiev are

come out on the stage in freezing temperatures to make their case to the public, to the people who believe they brought about the revolution here in ukraine. i think that to do anything less than that they might have been playing a rather dangerous game. the people here are claiming some ownership of what happened next in ukraine. they want to hear what the future politicians, future cabinet ministers have to say distrust and disenchantment with the political class here in ukraine is rampant, and the public needs to know that things really are about to change, that the corruption might be brought to an end, that the old style leadership of former president yanukovych. those days are well and truly over. it is pretty novel, but this is the situation post the

incredible events of last week, and people here have managed to bring about. >> and reports about ousted president viktor yanukovych has been put on an international wanted list. what more do we know? >> well, that's right. the attorney general prosecutor, if you like, wants an international hunt for him, and wants him brought to court. there are conflicting reports if a warrant is wanted for his return at this stage. certainly they want him. they want him back, and they would like to see him go on trial. of course, he is accused of

being implicated in the deaths of the protesters, more than 100 over three months of protests. those charges potentially when they come are very, very serious, indeed. but of course as you can imagine without a proper administration in place the confusion and delays have been inevitable here in the way things are carried out as far as the government goes. who knows, some are saying that yanukovych may have already made good his escape as a result of these delays. >> tim friend there in the ukraine. tim, thank you. now anti-government protests are continuing for a second day in central istanbul. parties organized by turkey's organizatiorepublic party.

prime minister erdogan telling his son to hide millions in cash, and some are calling it a dirty conspiracy. turkey's president has signed a new law tightening it's grip on the judiciary and control over the internet. the battle has turned into a trauma that has gripped turkey for months. in december an investigation was launched into accusations of corruption at the heart of turkey's government. the son of three cabinet ministers were among those arrested in a series of police raids. in january the government removed hundreds of police from their posts widely seen as a response to the corruption inquiry. then earlier this month after fist fights in parliament, turkey approved a law tightening government's control over the judiciary, the same judiciary

conducting the corruption probe, and then the president accusing his opponents of a smear campaign. let's talk to director of the center for turkey studies in london. ibrahim, how is this seen as a defensive tactic in the wake of all these corruption scandals? >> i agree that this is--this could be seen as a defensive move by the president to take over the judiciary. but in turkey they never had a proper judiciary. before, it was not independent. during that party it was not independent, now we've clearly seen that the government does not want anybody to have any influence over the judiciary. here i mean the formal lie of

prime minister, the probe in december led prime minister to take action against anyone who could have influence over judiciary. >> it does beg the question, doesn't it, with all these mounting allegations of corruption, how much more can erdogan take politically? he said it's all fabricated, but how many more smoking guns can he dodge? >> i mean, i think he would be able to take a few more because there doesn't seem to be a very strong, well organized credible opposition to him in the country. most people who are still sporting prime minister erdogan his government party in turkey

are complaining with regards to lack of credible opposition, which means practically if there was a credible, strong, well-organized opposition, people would have chosen to ditch mr. erdogan an his government i think in the near future. but right now it's still a problem. so mr. erdogan and his government seems to have turkey yet. >> you're talking about a political alternative in turkey. we know there are local elections in the country in the next few weeks. are those elections likely to give us any indication as to how much erdogan has been damaged politically? >> there will be. local elections traditionally are very important in turkey as they are in the rest of the world. this election is crucial for mr. erdogan because he's very key on maintaining his power

base in big cities such as istanbul. there are presidential elections coming up after local elections, and mr. erdogan wants to be the first president voted president by majority vote. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> more to come on the program a massacre and a nigerian boarding school. plus one submarine too many. india's paper chief puts in his papers. and in sport chelsea and turkey for their champions league clash. we have more coming up.

>> two men convicted of murdering a british soldier on a london street has been sentenced. let's go to our london broadcast center. >> thanks. sentenced to a whole life term which means he has no prospect of parole. his accomplice in the murder received life with a minimum of 45 years. the pair hacked a soldier to death outside of army barracks last may. well, we're joined live from the old bailey in central london. during the course of the afternoon there was a delay, wasn't there, before the sentences were handed down. tell us what was going on, and tell us also what reaction there has been to the sentences? >> reporter: these sentences were meant to be handed down at 4:30 local time, and that came just after 5:00 p.m. everyone was wondering what was going on outside of the court.

inside the court there was drama as well. inside the court the defendants had to be physically restrained. they were shouting at the judge and refusing to listen. in the end they were taken down this their cells and sentenced in their absence. rigby's family said they feel happy and felt they got justice with the sentence. but there were 200 to 300 far-right protesters, they were outside of the court, and at one point 30 to 40 officers were blocking the main entrance to stop protesters who appeared to be wanting to get in. they were demanding, and it was the best part of a year, may that this crime was committed. the better part of 12 months later it's still causing outrage and anger here. >> we must fight them as they fight us. eye for eye, tooth for tooth.

>> reporter: these were the seconds following one of london's most shocking murders. they had just killed a man here. a soldier, lee rigby, walking past unaware until two men hit him in a car and then stabbed him multiple times and even tried to cut off his head. the two didn't runaway afterwards. they did not hide. they waited for the police and attacked them when they turned up. they were shot but not killed. their trial was held amid extremely high security. they said their murder was in revenge of policies. many greed there was no way that britain had brought this on itself. the very faith that they claimed to be acting on what have of rejected him.

>> the crime took place last may, and then it was december when the court kate came to an end. why did we have to wait until february to here the sentence. >> the judge said he wanted to wait for a key court ruling to take place all to do with life sentences. in this country life is the mandatory sentence for killing someone for murder. but life does not always mean life. it may be attached with a minimum term of 20 years, 30 years, 40 years. it was this ruling of the court of appeal last week which made it easier for judges to be able to serve whole life. someone who is convicted of murder is told, they will never walk free again. that's what happened to one suspect today. hhe may be eligible for parole 5

years from now. >> thanks. >> former guantanamo bay detainee arrested by british police has told al jazeera that britain's intelligence agency knew of his trips to syria before he went. he's suspected of attending a terrorist training camp. a well-known activist. he was among four britains arrested on tuesday, and he spoke exclusively to al jazeera just last month. we have more from birmingham. >> he remains in custody and the police continue the second day of investigation at his home. members of his family have not been present as they continue to go there the property as evidence. allegations that the organization he works for have seasonnously denied terrorist training. he said he was open about his

trips to syria and even had meeting with mi 5 to discuss the visit, and no problems had been flagged. >> we had a meeting with mi 5 lawyers were present and mine were, and we spoke to potential threats to the united kingdom from british syrians, and there was noing tangible threat to britain from peopling abou peopo syria, and they had no problem with me going there. i returned on my second trip with their full knowledge and returned after that. >> al jazeera, birmingham.

>> more news from us here in london. a little later this news hour but for now back to darren in doha. >> n.a.t.o.'s general secretary said that all troops will leave afghanistan by december. unless there is a security signed with the united states. president karzai so far has refused to sign it, but his secretary assesso successor mays successor may sign it. >> reporter: a pulling out without leaving troops even to carry out what the u.s. government calls counte counterterrorism operations is risky for the white house. >> it appears that the u.s. is engaged with afghanistan, and is determined to have a long-term footprint in afghanistan.

the message is that we're running out of time for logistical purposes, we need quality time in order to design the u.s. military presence beyond 2014. >> reporter: in his call to hamid karzai president obama emphasized the u.s. commitment to helping keep the airplane presidential election secure. the 2009 poll was marred by allegations of widespread fraud. the runner up is dr. abdullah abdullah. he made clear that he's not backing any clear candidate. as that, mr. obama giving a warning to president karzai. >> if you're planning to engineer the outcome of this election, we will not welcome it. we will be firm in calling for a credible election with some degree of integrity.

we're still looking forward to see a popular government emerging from this election. >> reporter: if the u.s. does pull out it's troops, then other foreign governments are likely to follow suit. all the contenders in the presidential election say they will sign the bilateral security agreement. they know that tied to it is $8 billion a year in military and humanitarian aid that this government needs to function. without foreign troops on the ground to help keep an eye on how that money is spent then the government is unlikely to release the cash. >> the head of india's navy has resigned taking responsibility for a number of accidents. he stepped down hours after a training accident of a submarine off the co-coas coast. we have the latest from new delhi. >> it has not been a nice

tenureship for the head of india's naval service. it's been fraught with difficulties, he's only been in the job for over a year and there have been ten incidents, three involving submarines. the defense minister expressed concern with what was happening on india's fleet itself. the incident happened on the submarine that was on sea trials after a refit. it was 40 kilometers off the coast of mumbai when it experienced a fire, five sea men were helicoptered to a naval base for treatment. two officers are still missing. the most fatal of all of these incidents was back in august, on august 14th when th a submarine experienced an explosion, and 18 sea men there were killed.

several boats in the fleet have either crashed or collided with trollers or have run aground. commanders stripped of their duties. it seems that the naval commander, the naval admiral had to take final responsibility. many responsibilities will be asked about the state of naval fleet now, and we're expecting a statement. >> the former editor of the hong kong nub has been stabbed. he is in critical condition after being attacked by a man who got away on a motorcycle. he was editor of th named he edy amidst criticism. he's replaced by an editor with

beijing leanings. >> this is what is left of the federal government college in northeastern nigeria after four hours of uninterrupted violence. in the end officials say many boys and men were killed. dozens are also receiving treatment for injuries sustained during the attack. residents accuse the security forces of the school children after promising to protect schools following a similar attack. >> it is unfortunate up to the four-hour period of killing there are no security men around to contend with the situation. >> reporter: gunmen forced their way into a school and killed 44 students in their dormitories. many nigerians say they don't feel safe an these recent attacks. >> i don't think that we are s

seeing military expenditure matching, where there are new jersey enougsoldiers in enod we don't see curtailment of the violence in the country. >> reporter: soldiers have been deployed in the northeast, yet the attacks continue. and in the building behind me, many are gathering for an international conference on security. it's not clear how that will help people under attack in the northeast of nigeria. since the beginning of this year fighters have killed more than 300 people in the three northern states and now state of emergency. the government has denied the fighters are better equipped than it's military. for now, the area is closed. parents and children of other schools live in fear wondering if they are next.

al jazeera, nigeria. >> still ahead on the crisis in ukraine coming the farming community near the russian border where they worried their way of life is under threat. plus china's choking environment, smog reaching critical levels. and a change in athletic history. we have more next. we are not meant to be your first choice for entertainment.

al jazeera america. we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. >> we pursue that story beyond the headline, pass the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capital. >> we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. >> and follow it no matter where it leads - all the way to you. al jazeera america, take a new look at news.

>> welcome back to the top stories here on al jazeera. russia has promised to protect its naval fleet in southern ukraine. thprotests have continued into turkey for a second day over a corruption scandal involving the prime minister. turkey's president signed a new law tightening the government's grip on the judiciary which has been investigating claims of corruption. two british men who hacked a soldier to death in london have been sentenced.

one man was give a life sentence with no chance of parole, the other man received a life sentence with a parole in 45 years. >> full of corruption. it was normal way and i think georgia broke free, and russian president was very angry. he never minced words about what they're doing, and they said they owned this country. they used it and they use it to the benefits of themselves. everything he expressed. it's about what is happening.

people have eyes, and people cannot speak of what is happening. what happened was mass scale corruption, enrichment of bureaucrat. in my country, my government--almost nobody is rich for anything. these guys were all rich. they all have huge mansions and they all have big bank accounts all around the world. that's obvious. you don't have to be, like, they were not hiding this fact. it's not about who said what. it's about. what is the reality, all the countries with exception of my country managed to do something with reforms. but putin is very good at manipulating corrupt beau contracts in neighboring countries. one day in ukraine there is no corrupt, and then its democratic, open-minded society, it would be very hard to

manipulate. it's not about my feelings or personal subjective experience. yes, becomin there are things td be delivered very fast. one of the main things i'm advising new leaders, and i've been in close contact with them. so after i came here after the revolution, i met them in europe and i spoke with them, and i'm here. people will want--people have expectation. people are fed up and think talk is cheap. they need actions, and actions could be done. >> meanwhile the situation in kiev hasn't had much of an impact on farmers and villagers

in the east until now. they are now worried that their way of life could be under threat. we have reports from the ukrainian russian border. >> reporter: ukraine's border with russia stretches for more than 2,000 kilometers. in this cossack town, the decaying symbols of the soviet union are everywhere. in the cemetery a proud grave stone of a hero of socialist labor. planted in the middle of rich farmland there is nothing here to mark the horrors of lenin's forced collectivization. 6 million people mr. killed, in the center of the town the only monument are those who died in the great patriotic war against the nazis. opposing president yanukovych so far in kiev has divided opinions even here.

>> you call this life? it's not. it's a funny farm. if i had a chance i would have fled to russia. >> europe is important, but we cannot cut ties with russia. a lot is dependent on those ties. >> we should fix the country first. we have to build a normal functioning legal system that will serve the people, and not 450 members of parliament. >> reporter: employment is vanishing in this town along with its young families. every promise of investment by the old government was broken. the money never came here, and it shows. >> this town once supported a population of 16,000 people. but since independence it has been in catastrophic decline. the economy is frozen like the river that gives it it's name. >> by the time this ice thaws,

relations with moscow may be experiencing a deep freeze. a taxi cab driver received violence for carrying journalists. they call it the law of the fist, talking about president yanukovych. it still exists here. >> the u.n. security council has passed a resolution bringing sanctions. james, so why is this sanctions mechanism been introduced now? >> reporter: well, sanctions mechanism in place, but no actual names on the sanctions list. but when you speak to diplomats they will tell that you there is one name above all others. which is ali abdullah, former president of yemen. yemen has so many problems. it has al-qaeda tensions and those who want a separatest

agenda in the south. but one of the biggest problems is the former president trying to pull the leavers of command even though he's out of office, trying to interfere in natural reconciliation and the process under way in yemen. the idea here now is to have the sanctions regime in place, so they can put sanctions on individuals. >> james bay there at the u.n. in new york. thank you. let's get the latest now on what is happening in ukraine's independent square. tim friend is there for us still. we understand a rather novel way of unveiling a new cabinet. it what are the names in the frame? tell us what is happening. >> the important one to note is the man who has been at the center of the protest in the square here, and he is, of course, a big ali of tymoshenko

and her fatherland party, he is going to run as prime minister as widely expected by many here. i think he would be a great good favorite to get that job. there were some boos when his name was red out, but there were voices of support. interestingly the former heavyweight boxer, the head of the punch party, as it's known here, is not on the list because because he is widely expected to run for presidency. neither is on that list, mr. borishenko who heads up the well-known ukraine chocolate empire, and he's no friend of moscow. he has played a key roll behind the scenes.

he is another potential presidential runner. some of the people who have been in position, mr. abakov, the current acting interior minister. it's a mixed back. we've been hearing some boos, some cheers. not truly representative, at least, but perhaps indicative of saying earlier how important the political class here in the ukraine feel it is to come out and consult the people and not make decisions behind closed doors when they can be accused of all sorts of corruption and gerrymandering. they really have to come out and make their case to the public.

>> despite questions over the democratic robustness of this process it is extraordinary. they're basically putting people on stage and asking the crowd what do they think of them? >> yes, someone made a comparison in ancient rome with fairly drastics results. not quite like that here but hard to imagine leaders in western europe coming out on to a stage, on a freezing cold night. and essentially asking the public to support them. of course they do that when they're pitching to be elected.

the game is changed here and for the moment they can do it. whether they will continue in this manner remains to be seen. things will change, and at some point start to revert to some sort of normality. incredible events, and we continue to see them. >> al jazeera still demanding the release of its staff being held in egypt. they have now spent 60 days in prison, accused of having links with a terrorist organization and spreading false news. al jazeera rejects the charges. another journalist has been held since august. he has been on a hunger strike now for more than a month to protest against his imprisonment. one of al jazeera's cameramen in egypt was released after months of imprisonment in cairo. this is what he had to say about

his time in prison. >> i was later transferred where i also had the reception, and by reception, i mean all the transferred are stripped of their clothes and walk between two rows of 40 guards and dogs. we were beaten and battered all the way long. we were four person in the same cell. it was too small, so we had to sleep in turns. we were prevented from offering group prayers or attending friday sermons. food was very bad, and we could see insects crawling in the plate or in the bread. medical care was totally absent. only painkillers were given to main who complain. although many were suffering from diabetes or heart disease. one man died due to lack of

insulin. he was diabetic. i spent five months in this prison where daily inspection visit by guards were very humiliating. our clothes were torn and dirtied by them or thrown in the toilet. no visitations were allowed. my first baby was born while i was in jail. i saw him for the first time only for three minutes. my wife was harassed during the visitation before my eyes, and i stood helpless. >> france's highest appeals court has reversed a decision to extradite three rwanda genocide suspects. jonah? >> reporter: darren, the three men face charges for their alleged role in the massacres.

the genocide lasted 100 days but at that time 800,000 people were killed mostly from the minority tutsis tribe. >> it's been almost 20 years since the genocide took place in rwanda. 800,000 people were killed in is 5100 day100 days. the fight to bring those suspected of involvement to justice is an on going one around the world, including here in france. france's highest court has decided not to extradite three suspects. they arthey all denied any invot

in what happened in rwanda in 1994. one man said the decision made today is the right one. >> my client denies the accusations and insists they're innocent from the beginning. but that's not what happened today. if they're called to address this in a french court, they will face that. but they say today in rwanda they have no chance of a fair trial. >> they have beecriticism has bd among civil rights campaigners. >> navy ships in the mediterranean in the 24 hours to wednesday morning. 596 migrants were picked up, all from africa. the italian navy sent to intercept migrants before they reach the mainland. one of the world's greatest

guitarists has died. paco delucia suffered a heart attack in the mexican seaside resort of cancun at the age of 66. that's all the news from europe. darren in doha, back to you. >> jonah thank you. now strong winds mean people in beijing can breathe a little easier. for days the city has been covered in smog 20 times higher than healthy levels. >> reporter: they can finally see the sun. after nearly a week of smog they have been suffering like the rest of northern china from hazardous pollution levels. but being home to much of the country's iron and steal production, they have had some of the worst air. >> the smog was really bad this time. we couldn't even see the up.

>> there are too many cars and too many factories. the government should do something as a priority 2347 in nearby beijing people have been living in a twilight world under polluted skies. you can see and smell the pollution. you can also touch it. this is the car we've been traveling around. it was last washed three days ago. and this is what's built up on the roof since then. a thin layer of airborne particles. people in beijing and surrounding particles have been breathing this for weeks. >> widespread discontent with the government for not takes action and residents have found innovative solutions to deal with it themselves. this business sprang up with the simple idea of strapping a millster to a fan to clean the air. just over $30 u.s. a piece they

can't make them fast enough. >> it's more and more a pre-occupation and obsession. there is rarely a conversation in beijing where it doesn't come up. >> reporter: this smog emergency may be over but the winter isn't. and people in beijing won't be putting away the air filters just yet. >> time for another short break. when we come back we'll hear what one of barcelona star players has to stay about their under-pressure coach. stay with us.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we have for you. protesters in ukraine back on the streets as calls come for opposition leader to become the next prime minister. a sea of refugee in damascus. these photos show risk of starvation. a site for drought-wry